


Get a Grip

by Naeshira



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 5+1 Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naeshira/pseuds/Naeshira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Get a Grip, or Five Times Dex made Nursey Drop Things, and One Time He did it on Purpose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get a Grip

 

1 ~ Food ~ 

Derek had always been somewhat clumsy. His parents signed him up to play baseball when he was little, and while he was as good as a seven year old can be when it came to hitting the ball, he couldn’t catch it for anything. He’d learned to get the extended warranty after he knocked his second laptop off the kitchen counter. His phone cases always had to be drop resistant. His aunt still refused to let him hold her babies. 

At least Derek could stay on his feet. Which was why hockey was so good for him. He could skate well, and you almost never let go of the stick. And under intense, fast focus, there was no way he could klutz up on the ice. 

It was off the ice that was the problem. It was… honestly, it was _Dex_ who was the problem. 

Dex didn’t smile much. He had a pretty serious case of Resting Bitch Face, and Derek was still trying to learn which face meant he was annoyed and which face meant he was tired. But seeing Dex with a real, honest-to-God smile on his face, now that was sort of surprising. Surprising enough that Derek forgot to look away and walked straight into a girl in the middle of the dining hall. He spilled half his tray of pasta down her Samwell hoodie. 

Dex’s laugh was no less distracting. But it was certainly less pleasant, as Nursey repeatedly apologized and he could feel his face heat up as the girl just frowned at him.

 

2 ~ Phone ~

They had a routine. Every bus ride to an away game, the three of them piled their hockey bags in the window seat of one bench, where Chowder would then sit, using the bags as pillows when he wanted. Derek and Dex would sit across the aisle, with only minimal fighting for the window. 

Their game against Dartmouth was spectacular. They’d fought a back-and-forth game, gone into OT, and scraped out a well-earned win. The bus ride home was full of tired and contented hockey players. 

“Bro.” Derek nudged his d-partner’s arm. Dex had won the window seat this time, and he looked like he was about to fall asleep on it. Dex blinked at him and rose an eyebrow. “We’re awesome,” Derek finished, and held out his fist.

“Damn straight,” Dex responded, and bumped his fist. 

Twenty minutes into the drive, Dex was asleep, snoring lightly with his head back on the seat.

Derek had turned to talk to Chowder, comparing their different classes when he felt something press against his arm. He turned his head and got an eyeful of bright ginger hair. Dex shifted again, and dropped his head onto Derek’s shoulder before snoring again.

He was sleeping on his shoulder? He was comfortable enough to do that? It was enough to make Derek want to take a picture. But his hands fumbled and his phone dropped to the floor of the bus with a clatter. The bus braked and it slid under the seat in front of them. 

“Is he asleep?” Chowder hissed from across the aisle. Derek gave him a panicked look. 

“Nursey? You dropped your – oh _goodness_ that’s so _cute_!” Bitty popped over the back of the seat in front of them, Derek’s phone in his hand. He’d whipped out his own phone and taken a picture before Derek could even respond.

Derek just sighed and held out his free hand for his phone while Chowder excitedly begged Bitty to send him the picture. 

 

3 ~ Laptop ~ 

Sitting in the leaf piles was probably the best, Derek was convinced. It was like nature’s pillow, and… there was a poem. Derek quickly tugged out his laptop and opened it, balancing it on his knees. He’d just finished the first verse when his computer started making an odd noise. Derek lifted his hands off the keyboard and stared at the screen. The usual gentle whir of the machine had been replaced with a humming, grinding sound. “Shit.”

Derek glanced at his watch before pulling out his phone. He knew of two people who had some idea what to do with computers; Chowder had a math class now, but Dex might be free. One slightly panicked call later found Dex striding across the quad towards him. 

“The fuck did you do to your laptop, Nursey?” 

“I have no clue. Here.” Derek lifted it towards him as he sat just outside his pile of leaves. He hadn’t touched it since it started making noises.

Dex raised the laptop to his ear to listen to the noise. “Sounds like the fan. Probably clogged or something.” 

“Can you fix it?” Derek could just imagine the look on his mother’s face if he broke another laptop.

Dex nodded. “Find me a can of compressed air, sure.” 

“Thank God.” Derek breathed. He reached his hand out for the computer.

“Nice poem, too.” Dex added, lifting the laptop. “I like the rhyme.” 

Derek had just got a hold of the thing, but it was suddenly toppling through his fingers. Dex liked his poem? About leaves? That was – shit. Derek sighed as he realized his laptop had only landed on leaves. “Chill, man.” He muttered to himself. 

Dex started laughing. “Jesus, Nursey.” 

 

4 ~ Soda ~ 

Derek really should be used to this by now. Dex wasn’t made of stone; he had a sense of humor. He laughed at stuff. But this was the first time in a while he’d laughed at Derek without being mean. Derek tried to laugh too, because talking shit about the Princeton team was always hilarious, but he reached for his soda and knocked it over. 

Coke went across the table and onto Derek’s pants, and he pushed his chair backwards to get out of the way. He gave a long-suffering sigh as Dex kept laughing, this time at him. 

“Wow, nice one Nurse.” Holster dead-panned from across the table. “That was dumb.” 

Bitty appeared next to Derek before he could flip off the other defensemen at the table. “Oh, _Nursey_ ” Bitty gasped, looking almost traumatized. “You oughta come upstairs, we should clean those before they stain.”

“Chill Bitty, it’s fine.” Derek tried to pacify him, but there was no getting around the man’s mothering instinct. Derek let himself be ushered up the stairs.

In just a few minutes, Bitty was scrubbing away at Derek’s pants in the sink, while he sat in his boxers on the toilet lid. “Really, Nursey, I forget sometimes how clumsy you can be. You’re always so… chill.” Bitty smiled at him. “Does this happen a lot?”

“You mean besides the laptop thing?” Derek shrugged. “Kinda? It’s not always my fault though.”

“How d’you mean?”

“Everything is Dex’s fault lately.” Derek let his chin drop into his hand and he frowned at the bathtub. 

Bitty was silent for a moment as he rinsed out the last of the soap from Derek’s dress pants. “Now that doesn’t sound like your usual kind of argument.”

Derek turned his head. Bitty was giving him a kind smile. One that said he didn’t have to talk if he didn’t want to, but there sure as hell was someone who would listen. “I…” he started, then shrugged. “Sometimes he’s nice, or does something cute and I just stop thinking straight.” Derek felt his cheeks heat up and he dropped his face into his hands.

“Well.” said Bitty, plugging in the hair dryer and turning it on the pants, “try not to drop valuable things anymore.” 

Derek laughed. “Thanks, Bitty.” 

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you felt you could tell me.” Bitty finished up with his pants and the two returned to the table. 

 

5 ~ Hockey Bag ~

Derek’s chill was very practiced and calculated. It was partly his usual attitude and partly a trained façade. Of course, only two things break that façade. One was Dex. The other…was kids.

_Smack!_ Derek felt rather than heard his hockey bag hit something solid. Something solid that went “Ow!” 

“Shit, you okay?” 

The kid looked about as okay as you could be after getting smacked in the face with a hockey bag. He blinked and rubbed his face, checking his nose for blood. “Nah, I’m cool.”

Derek could feel his heartbeat start to return to normal. He thought he’d broken the kid’s nose at first. “Dude, I’m so sorry!” He started, holding his bag closer to his chest. “Seriously, I didn’t break you or anything?”

The kid shook his head. “If I get a bruise, I’ll just show my classmates how cool I am!”

Derek felt slightly panicked. “I, can I get you anything? We have ice on the bus? I –”

“Nursey.” Dex appeared at his side and wrapped a hand around his bicep. Even through his worry, he couldn’t help but think; Dex was touching him again. Dex was steady, and warm, and… Derek dropped his bag. “Nursey, c’mon. Kid’s fine.”

The kid nodded excitedly as Dex reached down and grabbed Derek’s bag. “Good luck with your game, bro!” 

“Thanks!” Derek managed, and Dex pushed him towards the rest of the team. 

Jack stood in front, his arms crossed over his chest and giving Derek a stern look. “Nice check, Nurse.” Even Jack cracked a grin as the rest of the team started to laugh. “Next time, keep it on the ice, eh?”

 

+1 ~ Water ~

Derek had it under control. He really did. Even if Chowder’s recent heart-eyed state was making him think more and more about going out on his own dates… He had it under control.

“That girl is so sweet; I swear they’re perfect for each other.” Bitty was gushing, pulling the latest batch of brownies out of the oven. “And he’s taking her out to lunch and everything!”

Dex sat in one of the kitchen chairs, idly tapping a spoon against the edge of the table. He’d got dibs to lick Bitty’s batter spoon this time, and Derek was only pouting a little bit. “You’re sure he’ll come back here after?”

“Well, eventually, I suppose.” Bitty shrugged. “He said he’d give us details!”

“Literally, none of us go anywhere. Where else would he go?” Derek added. He had his phone in one hand, waiting for Chowder’s text.

Dex made a face at him. “Shut up, Nurse.” 

Bitty finished up the brownies and left them to cool. “I need to get upstairs and do some work, so don’t fight while I’m gone, you two.” 

Derek and Dex both gave him noises of acknowledgement and Bitty seemed satisfied. He disappeared up the stairs, and Dex was immediately up out of his seat. He dropped the spoon in the sink and grabbed two brownies, bringing one back for Derek.

“Technically, he didn’t say no.” Dex explained, before taking a large bite and making pleased noises. 

Derek very determinedly kept hold of his brownie and stuffed it in his face. It was delicious, of course.

He dropped his phone on the table and grabbed his water bottle, washing down the brownie. 

“Hey, Nursey.” Dex said.

“What’s up – ” Derek started, but Dex leaned forward and kissed him. 

The water bottle dropped from Derek’s hand and spilled on the table. 

Dex pulled back and laughed. “I knew it. Here.” He had grabbed Derek’s phone off the table and now held it out to him. 

Derek grabbed his phone back and dropped it securely into his pocket. “Am I that obvious?”

“Only if you’re paying too much attention.” Dex admitted. He was blushing now, and Derek couldn’t help but grin.

“Glad somebody was.” He said, before grabbing Dex and pulling him in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Nursey is canonically clumsy, and I wanted to capitilize on that fact. Hope you enjoyed it! =)


End file.
